Wanting to try as many of the 07s' not available in Phoenix I had John at Vintage wines pick out his favorites in stock so we could try them at lunch Wed. Here are his choices. Plaiser 75cl from Roger Sabon, Feraud Brunel, Costieres de Nimes by Gassier, and Rasteau;La ponce from Dom. Escaravailles. Prices in order were 9.99, 14.99, 14.99, and 18.99. To say these were good is a whale of an understatement. I'm ordering boxes of all 4 and will give them all at least an 87 up to the Rasteau which is easily a 90-92. WW

ordered an '06 Roger Sabon Lirac Chapelle de Maillac at dinner last night, but the bottle was corked and it was their last one. sommelier upgraded to an '07 Lirac (didn't write down the producer and bottling info). a damn fine wine, just a pop and pour, but of course improved over time.

as has been said many times, '07 produced killer wines from the southern rhone, top to bottom. everything i've tried has been top notch, from the CDRs to the Liracs (my sweet spot for QPR) to the CDPs, of course.

add in California and rieslings from Germany, and '07 gave us a lot of juice to be thankful for.